You’re invited to a lively debate and discussion open to the public on
the theme of climate change and sustainability with Prof. John
Robinson – UBC, Alexis Morgan – World Wife Fund for Nature (WWF) -
Canada, and Fiona Koza – Amnesty International. Wednesday, February 4
at 7pm (UBC Robson Square).
Does addressing climate change get us to sustainability? Or does it
distract us from other key issues such as biodiversity loss and human
rights? Three experts discuss the prominence that climate change has
taken in public and political discourse, and debate whether this
emphasis on the causes and effects of a changing climate is detracting
attention from other critical concerns such as resource depletion, the
loss of ecosystems, inequity and social justice issues. The debate is
described below. It is a free event. The event is sponsored by UBC
Continuing Studies
(http://www.cstudies.ubc.ca/community/courses.html#Debates).
Title: Climate change: Does addressing this issue get us to
sustainability? Or does it distract us from other key issues such as
biodiversity loss and human rights?
Date: Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Where: UBC Robson Square (800 Robson Street), room C150
Who:
JOHN ROBINSON, Professor, UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and
Sustainability; Project Director, UBC Centre for Interactive Research
on Sustainability
ALEXIS MORGAN, Senior Manager, Ecoregion Planning & GIS Operations,
World Wide Fund for Nature – Canada
FIONA KOZA, Business and Human Rights Coordinator, Amnesty International
Description:
Climate change has emerged as the pre-eminent global threat. This
debate looks at the pros and cons of the tremendous and warranted
attention being given to this issue. On the one hand, a strong focus
on climate change helps advance the necessary societal transformation
with urgency. Addressing this issue requires promoting, among others,
energy conservation and developing wildlife habitat. Such actions lead
to numerous spin-off benefits, such as increased public transit,
emissions reductions, and new parks. However, a strong climate change
focus may overshadow systemic concerns such as resource depletion,
loss of ecosystem functions and human rights violations. How do we
take action on climate change and address these equally critical issues?
Directions (during construction):
The event will take place in Room C150 at UBC Robson Square (800
Robson Street). Due to construction, please enter through the
entrance on the north side of Robson Street between Hornby and Howe.
(See map for access during construction at
http://www.robsonsquare.ubc.ca/findus/index.html).
